Top 20 players of 2024: donk (1)

In his rookie year at tier-one, donk earns top billing on the top 20 players list thanks to his all-conquering raw numbers and record-breaking peaks.

Top 20 players of 2024: Introduction

Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets cements his status as one of the greatest rookies in CS history, and matches the feat achieved by Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut in 2019, by earning the top spot on HLTV's top 20 players list in his first full year as a tier-one pro.

Whilst donk's talent for Counter-Strike may be mind-boggling, his origin story is very much a familiar one. He was introduced to 1.6 by his older brother at the tender age of five, and he engaged in the classic younger sibling pastime of peering over his brother's shoulder whilst he played. Eventually, donk's brother started to teach him the game.

donk switched over to CS:GO when his brother bought him the game on Steam, and an obsession quickly took over. "I realized that I was doing well and getting better each day," donk recalls. "I played 12 hours a day, practically without breaks." This grind paid off for the youngster, as he climbed the FACEIT Elo ladder and earned his opportunity to join a real team.

"I played and grinded FACEIT a lot," donk states. "I eventually reached 4000 Elo, and went to the hub to meet people and develop." It was through this hub, the CIS FACEIT League, that donk was noticed by Russian insider and Spirit scout Aleksei "⁠OverDrive⁠" Birukov.

OverDrive invited donk to play some qualifiers with him, and the young rifler's talent was instantly apparent. "From the first game, it was crystal clear to understand his extremely high potential," OverDrive told HLTV when describing playing those test matches with donk in early 2021. "He was 14-years-old but thinking in-game like he was 20, and his aiming skills were unique."

Whilst most players spend time working their way up through the lower rungs of the professional ladder, playing for lesser teams to build experience and get their name out there, this wasn't the case for donk. Even ZywOo spent time on teams like aAa, bolstering his game time in proper matches before joining Vitality. donk's immense talent, and the opportunity offered by WePlay Academy League, ensured he enjoyed a unique journey to the top.

Spirit offered donk a spot on their academy roster, and, at the age of 14, the young Russian took his first steps into the professional scene. Despite his obvious ability and potential, there were faltering steps at first.

donk put up a handful of strong maps in his early days on Spirit Academy, but also plenty of bad maps. His ratings were often in the red and his KDA negative as Spirit Academy struggled to win many maps, even with soon-to-be main team players Robert "⁠Patsi⁠" Isyanov and Pavel "⁠S1ren⁠" Ogloblin among their ranks. donk was playing against admittedly stiff opposition much of the time, good tier-two sides like ENCE and KOI (then Movistar Riders) to name a few, but he was often struggling even against the lesser teams.

"At first it was hard for me," donk admits when reflecting on his start in Spirit Academy. "I thought that I wasn’t ready for competitive play at that moment. I was upset because I felt that I wasn’t showing the level I’m capable of."

Regardless of his overall level in his first official matches, Spirit saw enough in donk to keep him on the academy roster when Patsi and S1ren were promoted to the main team at the end of the year.

donk continued to struggle to stamp his authority on Spirit Academy's games early in 2022, up until what felt like a watershed moment: WePlay Academy League Season 5. donk might not have been the force we have come to expect across the whole tournament, but his efforts in the play-in portion of the event helped carry his team into the playoffs, where they would eventually go on to secure second place.

donk's individual form began to trend upwards through the rest of the year, and this carried on into 2023. With increasing regularity, the young phenom was taking over games, putting up the kind of numbers tier-one fans have become used to seeing from him, and by early 2023, he was carrying Spirit Academy to deep runs and titles in CCT Europe Series events.

With donk's form truly taking shape and the academy team's growing success, it was only a matter of time before the struggling main team turned to their young stars. Spirit did so in July, bringing donk up to the main team alongside Artem "⁠ArtFr0st⁠" Kharitonov and Myroslav "⁠zont1x⁠" Plakhotia, the core that was the beating heart of the academy team's rapidly growing stature. donk did not get carried away as a result of his promotion, far from it. "Overall, for me, it meant only one thing: that I was going to a higher level, and that I would have to work more than I had worked before," donk simply states.

donk hit the ground running for the main team, racking up insane numbers as they plowed their way through tier-two competition in order to bed in their young talents. They won CCT North Europe Series 6 almost immediately after the academy stars were promoted, and finished second in CCT 2023 Online Finals 2 not long after.

Spirit then turned their sights to LAN competition, winning PARI Dunav Party and taking down Virtus.pro in the process. Still, donk refused to get carried away despite his streak of successes. "I didn't consider it a success," he says when reflecting on the aforementioned tournament victories. "It was just a sign that we were moving in the right direction and getting better."

By the end of the year, hype for Spirit and donk reached a fever pitch after they won BetBoom Dacha 2023. Not only was it a LAN event attended by a raft of top 10 and 15 sides, but Spirit won it in dramatic fashion, completing the first-ever BO5 reverse sweep at an international LAN over Virtus.pro. Throughout every modest success Spirit had racked up across 2023, donk had been at the forefront, and he was so once again at BetBoom Dacha. He picked up the MVP medal for his efforts, and the year ended with the entire community holding its breath as it awaited the arrival of donk's iteration of Spirit to tier-one play.

If possible, the anticipation for Spirit's efforts in 2024 were heightened even further in the off-season thanks to the dramatic signing of Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov. Thrice deemed a top 10 player in the world on HLTV's top 20, sh1ro was one of a precious few signings that Spirit could realistically make to improve their team on paper, and despite ArtFr0st performing well in a Spirit jersey, he could not argue with Spirit replacing him when sh1ro was available.

Thus, with the dawn of 2024 came intense curiosity and excitement for Spirit. They had signed one of the best AWPers in the world, sh1ro, to compliment the effervescent young talent of donk, and it was time for the squad to display what they were worth at the tier-one level. Would donk prove to be the revelation he appeared to be, and would Spirit be elevated with the signing of sh1ro?

The early signs were a little worrying. Spirit limped through the PGL Major Copenhagen closed qualifier with a loss to KOI and narrow wins over lesser opposition, but a confident 2-0 victory over MOUZ dispelled the worst of the concern.

IEM Katowice was to be Spirit and donk's first real test, their first chance to show what they were made of amongst the elite. It was a test they passed with flying colours, putting together perhaps the most incredible breakout tournament campaign of all time, with donk in utterly irresistible form as Spirit demolished everyone in their path, dropping a single map on their way to the trophy.

Natus Vincere, the third-ranked team in the world, were crushed by a 1.45-rated donk performance. FaZe, second in the world, fell in the group final to an utterly absurd 1.83-rated donk masterclass, with the Russian phenom racking up 120 ADR. He saved the best for last, however, producing a magnificent 124 ADR on his way to a 1.96 rating as he ran over FaZe across three maps in the final, racking up a staggering 82 kills.

It was a record-breaking, MVP-winning performance and an outrageously emphatic announcement of donk on the world stage. He equalled the Big Event rating record (1.70) in arguably a more difficult setting and context. He posted 1.11 KPR, 2.10 impact rating, and a whopping 79 multi-kill rounds. It was the single most impressive individual tournament performance of all time, bar none. donk had arrived.

"We came to this tournament without any expectations," donk admits when looking back at IEM Katowice. "We had only one goal — to play our game and get in shape, getting better from match to match. I really liked this whole competitive atmosphere, it’s off the charts at tournaments like this one." In typical fashion, donk refuses to get too excited when discussing his own record-breaking performance. "I don't care. It's nice and cool, of course, but without the team, I wouldn't have been able to give such a performance."

The powerful little Russian continued to menace teams as Spirit confidently qualified for PGL Major Copenhagen and BLAST Premier Spring final, topping the scoreboard in nearly every map he played. The tournament everyone was waiting for was up next, CS2's first Major, and all eyes were on donk as he headed to Copenhagen to attempt the unthinkable; win his first-ever Major.

Spirit's Major campaign began perfectly, with the team dominating the Elimination Stage. Not only was donk on fire, the rifler battered Imperial to the tune of 130 ADR and a 2.24 rating, but sh1ro was also in form. Natus Vincere took a map off Spirit in the playoff qualification bout, but were ultimately also swept aside with relative ease.

The stage seemed set for a Spirit Major victory, and for donk to quickly pen another successful chapter in his short biography thus far. Spirit had shown in Katowice that the stage pressure didn't get to them, and FaZe, their quarter-finals opponents, had already been bested by Spirit twice in Poland. Unfortunately for donk and his team, the pressure did seem to get to them in Copenhagen.

FaZe turned the screw on the first map of Mirage, and Spirit all seemed out of sorts. donk may have racked up solid ADR and a positive KDA, but he wasn't at his domineering best. He recovered on Nuke to guide Spirit to a decider, dropping a 30-bomb to seal a tight overtime battle. donk continued to perform well on Vertigo, but his teammates dropped the ball; sh1ro was missing all series long, and zont1x crumbled in multiple vital moments with the pressure mounting. His team slipped to defeat in another overtime scrap, and had to settle for a top-eight finish.

Upon reflection, donk feels Spirit were the better team going into that quarter-final. "It's sad that we lost, I think we were stronger as a team overall, and I think the veto was great for us." He admits that it was the psychological aspect of the game that let Spirit down. "Due to nerves, we lost to FaZe and got eliminated from the Major."

donk could hardly be faulted for Spirit's somewhat disappointing Major finish. He had certainly dropped off from the superlative level he displayed at Katowice, but that was simply not sustainable. He still produced an unparalleled level of fragging, 0.90 KPR, and was immensely impactful in most of the maps he played. He also racked up his impressive fragging numbers with six of his eight maps coming against the two eventual finalists, Natus Vincere and FaZe. Deservedly, he picked up an EVP mention for his efforts in his first Major appearance.

Across the next two events, Spirit proved they were not the force of dominance that was teased during IEM Katowice. First, the team could only take second-place at the medium-tier BetBoom Dacha Belgrade, being dominated in the grand final by the only other elite squad in attendance, MOUZ. donk earned the MVP nod in a 1.46-rated performance, continuing his excellent year, but the young starlet would prove in the next tournament that he was not infallible.

donk's first real wobble of the year came at IEM Dallas. After a string of donk-like performances saw his team march confidently through the group stage, the youngster took a back seat on the final map against FaZe, with sh1ro stepping up as donk had a rare off map. donk then suffered an even rarer off series against Vitality, proving fairly woeful on Dust2 before putting up a middling performance on the second map, and his team was ultimately eliminated with ease.

It was the first time we had seen donk really struggle at an event, but even then, he still posted a respectable 1.13 average rating and earned a VP mention, propped up by some scintillating maps in the group stage.

With many beginning to question just how good Spirit really were, they returned to their best at the season-ending BLAST Spring Final, in no small part due to another MVP-winning performance by donk. The aggressive rifler topped the scoreboard in every series he played bar one, resulting in him leading the event for ADR (92.8), KPR (0.88), and impact rating (1.45). Whilst his teammates had certainly put in strong performances around him, sh1ro was his top competition for the MVP award, donk continued to frag and provide impact like no other.

What came after the summer break was Spirit's toughest period of the season, and donk's poorest run of play. He struggled badly as G2 eliminated Spirit in the first round of the Esports World Cup's playoffs, a matchup that would haunt them for the rest of the year. Spirit then endured a disastrous IEM Cologne. The MongolZ sent them to the lower bracket where they were embarrassed by G2, 26-3 in two maps. donk posted the worst LAN map of his career to date in the second map, a 0.36-rated four-frag showing. This stint hurt donk's case for player of the year immensely.

"We lost confidence in ourselves," donk states when reflecting on Spirit's post-break slump, which he says was his worst moment of the year. "We stopped trusting and began to doubt our abilities." He is philosophical when musing on criticism of Spirit during that period. "I was indifferent. I couldn’t care less about what people said. I understood that we could get through this stage, and I believed that we would manage to do it. In general, there will always be criticism — there are as many opinions as there are people."

Following the low point of his year, donk and his team could not have had a better chance to bounce back than at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2. The field in Serbia was solid but lacking truly elite sides beyond MOUZ, the exact field Spirit needed to play themselves back into form and rediscover their confidence.

Spirit enjoyed the exact type of run they would have wanted in Belgrade. donk farmed Falcons and FURIA as they strolled into the upper final. MOUZ offered a far stiffer test there, but Spirit duly came through, with donk providing over 100 ADR in each of their map wins. MOUZ would falter in the consolidation final, thus presenting Spirit with an unfamiliar opponent in the form of Eternal Fire in the grand final. The resurgent Turks proved no match for Spirit and donk grabbed another MVP award for his efforts, another winner's medal, and Spirit were back on track.

Looking back, donk feels that one result during the tournament was key. "I can't speak for the team, but I think [it was important for our confidence]. What mattered more was not that we won the tournament but our win over MOUZ." Spirit's run in Belgrade proved to be a bit of a false dawn, however, and they struggled mightily in their next outing at EPL 20. It was only through frankly inhuman efforts by donk that they made any kind of run in the competition.

First, donk broke CS2's kill record to haul his team past Wildcard in a two-map affair, a mind-boggling feat, before he put up a 1.40 rating in defeat as the rest of his team crumbled against MIBR. They dusted themselves off to make the playoffs, with donk leading the way and some better form being shown by zont1x and sh1ro.

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donk breaks CS2 kill record against Wildcard

donk cooled off in the playoffs, needing sh1ro to continue to help shoulder the burden of carrying the team, before eventual winners Natus Vincere knocked Spirit out in the quarter-finals. donk finished the tournament as the highest-rated player (1.40) and earned yet another EVP nod for his efforts in hauling Spirit as far as he did.

BLAST Fall Final was a tournament to forget, both for donk and his team. They exited the tournament with a single series win to their name, a series that was a strugglesome victory over a relatively new Astralis even against the lesser teams. donk was far short of his usual level, which still resulted in a 1.15 average rating and a VP mention.

With the Major in Shanghai looming, Spirit needed to find a way back to top form, and BLAST World Final proved to be the place to do it. Spirit took down Vitality, FaZe and Astralis on their way to the final, with donk in good form, but not needing to solo carry. Their old nemesis G2 stopped them at yet another tournament, the fourth time they had done so since the player break, but Spirit had proven they had it in them to beat everyone else. donk secured his third EVP award of the year thanks to his immense efforts in his team's round wins (1.23 KPRW, 123.5 ADRW) and resistance against G2 (1.26 rating over 5 maps).

Spirit's run through the RMR to qualify for the Major in Shanghai was short of convincing, but perhaps better than their 3-2 record seemed on paper. The Russian squad suffered a shock loss to Passion UA, certainly a disappointing result, but they ran their greatest enemy G2 very close in their other loss, won the rest of their matches with ease, and donk was in prime form, racking up a 1.40 rating.

The beginning of Spirit's Elimination Stage caused alarm bells to ring, however. They were thumped by FURIA, a side on the up, but some way short of the elite. donk put up over 100 ADR, but his team were woeful around him, and Spirit could only do so much as a purely one-man show.

Spirit recovered with aplomb, most notably thrashing Natus Vincere and besting a resurgent HEROIC to grab a playoff berth. donk topped the scoreboard in every series through Spirit's group stage run, fragging like only he can and putting opponents to the sword, but importantly, the likes of zont1x and sh1ro stepped up their game from the opening match.

donk continued his immense form into the quarter-finals, proving too much for Liquid as his 1.63 rating dwarfed his nearest teammate and ensured a smooth 2-0 victory. In the semi-finals, donk faltered badly on the first map against MOUZ. He managed a measly 40 ADR on his way to his second-worst LAN rating of all time, and it seemed Spirit may once again be short of the level needed to make a serious run at a Major title.

Instead of folding, however, the young and relatively inexperienced donk recovered in style; he posted 1.55 and 1.47 ratings on the next two maps, racking up just shy of 100 ADR as a grand final spot was secured. Perhaps most importantly, sh1ro and Boris "⁠magixx⁠" Vorobiev elevated their performances to provide donk with a strong supporting cast.

In the final itself, FaZe offered stiff resistance but donk was simply not to be beaten. The superstar accrued an insane 110 ADR across the series and a 1.67 rating as he marauded his way to the Major title, once again offered vital support by a powerful magixx performance. At the most vital juncture, donk's teammates had raised their level to support his superstardom, and it rewarded the team with a Major trophy.

donk not only got his winner's medal, but yet another record-breaking MVP: he was the youngest Major MVP, the highest-rated, and broke the record of most aces at a Major. He lead the tournament in KPR (0.99), total kills (289), and impact rating (1.75), emphasising his status as the most potent and impactful fraggers in the game.

"I didn't have any special emotions, really," donk states in typically understated fashion. "For me this tournament was not much different from others. I was very happy for the guys, because they went through much more than I did to achieve this goal." The best player in the world also apparently "didn't feel anything" when he won the MVP medal. "This medal just reflects that my team utilizes me correctly."

Despite winning IEM Katowice, a Major, and other trophies in between, donk still wants more when he reflects on Spirit's year. "A good year, that could have been better," he begins. "But we are a young team and still learning. Of course, you can say that it could have been better if not for the problems in the middle [of the year]. But who knows what kind of team we would have been at the end of this year if not for them."

Why was donk the best player of 2024

donk clinches No. 1 on the Top 20 players of 2024 list after a godlike debut in tier-one competition at just 17 years old.

The Russian phenom's raw numbers went unmatched. He led the year in overall rating (1.36) and on both sides (1.37 on T, 1.34 on CT) as a result of his ridiculous firepower, 0.91 KPR, 96.1 ADR, 25% of rounds with a multi-kill, 55.1% of rounds with a kill.

No one could hold a candle to donk's impact on round wins, which goes to show just how much his contributions carried Spirit to their immense success. He averaged 1.24 kills per round win, a ridiculous .13 gap to the next best in ZywOo, and 122.4 damage per round, 12 away from second-best Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski, and had a kill in 69.5% of round wins.

He maintained that level in the biggest competitions and, thanks to his unbelievable peaks at IEM Katowice and Perfect World Shanghai, even improved on them at the Super-Elites and higher (1.44 rating) despite his disappearance in Cologne.

He was also great under pressure as the second-best arena player (1.31) only to Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov and just about third in big matches (1.26), only dropping off behind his two rivals in elimination matches (1.23), and was joint-second best against top 5 (1.22) and second best against top 10 teams (1.27).

That led to his three big MVPs at the aforementioned two Super-Elite events and BLAST Premier Spring Final, two more at the medium-sized BetBoom Dachas, and three EVPs from PGL Major Copenhagen, ESL Pro League Season 20 and BLAST Premier World Final.

donk didn't have the same consistency as his rivals as a volatile player, as his high death count overall and opening deaths in particular shows, and had fewer Big Event awards than the other candidates as a result (also because Spirit skipped some). However, this couldn't hold him back from becoming Player of the Year after he had the impossible-to-match peaks to show that, when he was at his best, he was second to none.

Ever the stoic character, donk tells HLTV that individual accolades do not concern him. "I don't care," he said of making it so high on HLTV's top 20. "It's nice of course, but it's not my main goal. I want to win as a team, to be on top as a team."

Bold prediction by 1xBet

Whilst donk does give a mention to Spirit Academy star Maxim "⁠kyousuke⁠" Lukin, his truly bold prediction is Ivan "⁠zweih⁠" Gogin.

zweih averaged a 1.13 rating across the past three months playing for Nemiga, with whom he competed at Perfect World Shanghai Major Europe RMR. The 17-year-old topped the scoreboard in their only series win at said event, and was Nemiga's only player to post a positive K-D differential across the tournament.